No San Diego Chargers Voted to Pro Bowl

The NFL announced its Pro Bowl rosters on Wednesday, and to little surprise, the 6-9 San Diego Chargers are sending zero players to Hawaii.

Fans could argue that free safety Eric Weddle deserves to go. Though his stats aren’t as glamorous as they were in his Pro Bowl season a year ago, he still had a solid season with three interceptions.

Punter Mike Scrifes, who is snubbed from the Pro Bowl year in and year out, had perhaps his best season of his career. He averaged a career-high 48.2 yards per punt with a career-high 40.8 net yards per punt.

The 2012 Chargers are long removed from their talented 2006 squad in which a franchise-record 11 players were selected to the Pro Bowl. This marks the first time since the 2003 season that the Chargers were shut out of the NFL All-Star game.

The news doesn’t bode well for the future of General Manager A.J. Smith. Since putting together a Super Bowl contending roster and finding perennial Pro Bowlers like Antonio Gates and Kris Dielman, Smith has faced off in contract disputes with players, made questionable draft decisions, and allowed top talent to leave via free agency. The fact that no Chargers were selected to the Pro Bowl further accents the depletion of talent that Smith is largely responsible for.

Hope is not all lost though. The Chargers do have a few young players, such as Corey Liuget and Donald Butler, who are playing well and could one day become Pro Bowl players. Though Smith was responsible for bringing them in, he will likely not be around long enough to see them be recognized among the NFL’s best.